Under the Shadow of the Sky
by Absol Master
Summary: Five hundred years into the future, Alto Mare, the perfect city, is threatened by a disaster. When even Latios and Latias cannot save them, an orphaned girl bears the only hope of the city, and in the process, a prophetic legend is slowly fulfilled.
1. Wishes to the Sky

And so, here is my 30th fanfic! Let's have a party! For this one, it's the debut of a new chaptered Pokemon fanfic! I took a while coming up with the storyline of this one. This story has an OC with a (stupid) invented name. Hope you enjoy it, though!

* * *

Under the Shadow of the Sky

_Whispers of wind in the leaves. Wash of a breeze through lush grass. A ripple in a clear pool…_

Latios and Latias still dreamt of them.

It had been years, more than five hundred, since the beauty of Alto Mare had begun to vanish.

Little by little, the trees were felled, the gardens and plants uprooted, channels of water covered and diverted to feed the city's water system.

When it had once been a land of mystery and closeness to nature, it was now a city of metal. Steel towers rose where there had been stone houses centuries ago, the points and spires at the top of each tearing the sky like claws.

It was "the perfect city", the people liked to say—no crime, no disease, no attacks—a utopia where everyone could live happily, with no fear.

But it was also lifeless. The only plants were the crops in the highly secure aeroponics farms within metal container buildings. Flying Pokemon no longer flew, except in battlefields. Only rich people owned Pokemon.

Latios and Latias were on the run. People all over the world sought them out, knowing that their capture would bring great fame, and a lot of money.

So now, they lived in their human forms, appearing as ordinary humans, living human lives but never growing old, only daring to turn back into their true forms under the cover of night.

* * *

"Mum, tell me another story!"

Latios stood on the parapet outside the young girl's bedroom window, listening as the girl's mother told her a bedtime tale, feeling the freezing night wind blow on his face. Sometimes, he felt lonely, even with a sister, so at night, he would fly through the sky and spy on the humans' activities.

He watched the girl and her mother, feeling comfort in their closeness, but also a sense of longing, for something to fill that hole of loneliness in his heart.

"Alright," the mother went on. "This story is about Shaymin, the starter of life." The girl sat up in her bed, and her mother began her tale. "Shaymin has a garden where it lives, a field full of so many flowers that you can't see its end. It's a beautiful garden, and it's full of sweet smells of flowers of all kinds."

"Wow, Mum! I wish I could see it! The last time I saw a flower was last year. They're pretty!"

"Yes," her mother patiently replied. "It has one flowerbed for every city in the world. The flowers there are our spirits, and Shaymin tends to them, using them to predict what will happen to each on of us.

"Legend says that, in the bed of Alto Mare, there was this one small plant which refused to flower, no matter how much Shaymin tried to water it and bless it. It just stood there, not opening any petals, nor growing any taller. Soon, all the other flowers had grown so tall that the sunlight no longer reached that little plant."

The girl gave a sniff of sadness. On her face was a look of sorrow.

"Then, one day, the sun suddenly began to shine brightly, so brightly that the flowers began to wither. Shaymin could do nothing about it, and could only watch as the flowers slowly died.

"It was at that moment that the tiny plant, the seedling, which had been shaded from the light for so long, suddenly began to grow. It grew fast, grew tall and strong, branches spreading wide. The tree sheltered the other flowers in the flowerbed, kept them in the shadow, safe from the blazing sun.

"But by the time the great light ended, the tree's leaves had withered, and it was nothing but a skeleton, dead."

The girl was now crying softly, sobs shaking her body. "What a nice tree," she sighed into her blankets. "What happened? Does the story end there?"

Her mother smiled and shook her head. "Shaymin was touched by that one spirit-tree's kindness, so it granted the tree new life, and eternal youth."

The girl was smiling now. "Another story, please!" she exclaimed eagerly.

The mother nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you the story of Latios and Latias," she went on.

Latios turned away from the window, facing the frozen night sky. _Frozen, cold, not moving at all._

With the next gust, he flew away, and returned to their home.

* * *

Luzania looked up at the sky outside the market as the new day dawned. _A new day, a day of more troubles, _she thought with a tired sigh.

The marketplace was a huge metal pavilion, the only open-air building in the town, standing in the midst of the only body of water in Alto Mare. The lake around it was perfectly square, and perfectly clear. It was connected to land by four bridges.

As the sky slowly faded from rose to blue, Luzania awaited the crowd of morning shoppers that would arrive soon, and along with them, the torture that they always brought.

To them, Luzania was a freak of nature. She had no parents. Her mother had been killed in an accident, and her father of cancer. Here in Alto Mare, _no one _died unnatural deaths. Everyone was safe, and nothing bad ever happened.

But somehow, her parents had died unnatural deaths. That made her abnormal, a freak. Orphans did not fit in in Alto Mare.

So everyday, the homeless fourteen-year-old had to face insults, spitting and hitting from the people who passed her by. There she is, they would shout. The girl whose parents died.

Luzania wanted to counter, but she knew that it would only bring more pain, so she kept her mouth shut, and let them continue.

Sometimes, Luzania wondered why she continued to live. She could easily end all the suffering by leaping off a tower. But that, she knew, was just running away, taking the easy path out. She wanted to fight, and someday, she knew that, no matter how distant the chance seemed, she would finally be accepted by everyone.

The first few shoppers soon came over the bridge. Luzania tried to act as inconspicuously as she could. But of course, as usual, she could not help buy be noticed.

"Dirty girl!" one man yelled, kicking her away. "Stay out of our market!" Luzania flinched back, and the few people there laughed.

Another spat at her. "You're a disgrace to us, girl!" he yelled. The rest laughed as she wiped her arm on her blue skirt.

Usually, she would be able to withstand their insults and hitting, but this time, a whole mob of people was yelling at her. Some even threw things at her.

As another egg exploded on her blouse, she could not stand it any longer, and stood up, tackling the man nearest to her. He fell to the ground and gave a shout of pain. _I have to break free. Someday, I will!_

"Leave me alone!" she screamed, racing over the bridge.

Others would find her soon, she knew, but for now, if she could remain safe from those men, she would.

* * *

Latios and Latias walked on towards the marketplace, wondering what to buy today. It was Sunday, and they had to buy more food for themselves. Latios wore a white shirt and long black pants; Latias had a white blouse and a pink skirt on.

As they approached the marketplace, they heard a loud commotion. Curious as to what was happening, the two ran across the bridge, up to the scene.

Suddenly, from the crowd burst a girl in a sleeveless blouse and a blue skirt, her clothes covered in sauce and eggs. She looked angry; her strides long. In a second, she had shot over the bridge.

For the moments they had seen her face, they had noticed what a beauty she was. Her wild black hair caught the wind as she ran, shining in the sun. Her dark eyes were fierce, her skin pale, features almost perfect.

_Who was that? _Latios asked Latias through telepathy.

_She sure runs fast, _Latias replied. _She looked very distressed, for some reason._

_Shall we chase her?_ Latios inquired.

With a nod, the two of them turned and ran after the girl.

* * *

This is how this story started: I challenged myself to write a story entitled "Under the shadow of the sky". That's how this story came about. Quite an abstract title, isn't it?


	2. Meet on the Wind

Finally done chapter 2! I got 5 reviews for chapter 1, but only 3 people put it on alert. Enough interest for me to carry on. Enjoy chapter 2!

* * *

Chapter 2: Meet on the Wind

Luzania continued to run as hard as she could. Behind her, she could hear the sound of chasing footsteps.

_What do they want with me? S_he thought, alarmed. Whatever the reason, though, she did not like the fact that she was being chased. Picking up her pace, she continued to race through the streets, through the corridors marked by towering metal buildings, between the passers-by, who turned to stare at her, their faces turning into a blur. No one had ever been able to outrun her before.

Soon, though, minutes later, Luzania realised that the footsteps hadn't stopped chasing. She took a turning into another, smaller street, which was deserted. At this point, she glanced back, fearful all of a sudden of her pursuers.

They were the girl and boy from outside the marketplace earlier on. Seeing no threat in them, and yet suspicious of their intentions, she stopped and turned.

"What do you want with me?" she yelled angrily as they came to a halt before her.

The boy stepped forward. "Um...we were just wondering why you were in such a...um...state, when you ran from the marketplace," he explained hesitantly. "You looked really, really afraid."

Luzania felt her tension loosen up a little. "Is that all?" she questioned, realising that they didn't wish to further harm her. SHe glanced down at her clothes, which were in a pitiful state.

"Yeah...I see what you mean," she sighed. "They...everyone...hates me. They think that I'm weird. They took away my home, cast me out of society totally. Now I'm nobody."

"But you aren't really nobody, are you?" the girl replied, walking forward as well. "You stand here before us. You speak, and we hear your voice. What is your name?"

Luzania sighed and looked on. "Luzania," she replied, smiling for once. "My name is Luzania."

The two stood there, seeming to think as she watched. "Nice name," the boy commented. "You said that you don't have a home, or something like that?" Luzania nodded. "Do you want to come and live with us?"

Luzania glanced from one face to another, apprehensive. _Will I be a burden to them? Are they really willing to share their home with an outsider, a dirty, abnormal orphan like me?_

Slowly, she nodded. She _did _want a home. She wanted to have a place to stay in the coldest winter nights, a place to give her the comfort of the knowledge that she would have a home to return to at the end of the day...

"That's great then!" the boy exclaimed. The girl smiled in approval. "Let's get back, then! Never mind that we forgot to buy our stuff at the market..."

Very soon, Latios and Latias were on the way home, their new acquaintance, Luzania, following. Somehow, Latios was amazed that she had such a sad story. He remembered seeing her once or twice before, in various parts of town. He had never thought much of it, always believed that she was simply an ordinary girl hanging out somewhere.

How was it possible that such a beautiful, spirited girl could have such a troubled life?

"By the way," Luzania suddenly said. "What are your names?"

Instantly, he received a telepathic message from Latias. _What do we say?! _she burst out. _Do you want to tell her our secret? She's a human, though a special one. What do we tell her now?_

Latios began to think quickly. _We shouldn't tell her anything yet. We must see if she's worthy of knowing the secret first, _he replied. _For now, we're called..._He thought for a moment. _Lucida and Lorenzo._

"I'm Lucida," she quickly said. "And my bro's name is Lorenzo." Latios thanked the sky silently for his sister's wonderful acting skills.

"I see," she replied. "Nice names."

As they led the girl along, an uneasy silence grew between them. Latias didn't even send Latios any telepathic messages.  
"Here," his sister finally said as the familiar sight came into their view. Between the long rows of fifty-storey-tall apartments was a line of huge metal covers lining the side of the street.

Luzania gasped loudly. "The...the canals?" Her voice was heavy with shock.

As Latios looked on sadly at what the canals from five hundred years ago had become, he nodded. He could almost see the long stretch of water as it had been, five centuries ago, trees, and birds and all.

"What're we waiting for?" Latias called, seeming excited at the prospect of showing a new person their shared, secret home. Following after, they ran to the edge of what had once been the canal.

--

Luzania could not believe it. _They live in the canals? _

For as long as she knew, she had always wondered what was under those metal covers—what was it below them, that had been hidden from the citizens of Alto Mare for hundreds of years? Her mother had told her tales of how Alto Mare had once been a beautiful city with trees, grass and open skies. Then, the canals had been open as well, the home to hundreds of Pokemon, and the site of many races.

Then, she recalled, they had been covered up to prevent the breeding of Bug Pokemon that might cause diseases. Now, they were simply hidden channels that supplied the city with water. But why did they hate the water so much that they had to take such a beautiful thing away from the city?

Lucida lifted the cover. It seemed heavy, and her extraordinary strength amazed Luzania. Slowly, she lowered herself into the hole.

"Come on down," the girl called out. Luzania looked on at the blackness below as Lorenzo went in after his sister. Taking in a deep breath, she stepped forward and put her foot in. Her sandal met with a metal rung, and soon, she had guided herself down onto a ladder, up to her head inside the hole. "Remember to cover it again."

She could hear splashing. Rhythmic splashing, as if pails of water were being thrown repeatedly upon cement. Then, she entered the darkness, and pulled the lid over her head, all sunlight instantly vanishing.


End file.
